


hometown doesn't mean home

by sleeepybear



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, no one asked for this, relationships will be in there later just puttin them there now, ryuji and the rest are coming later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-09-26 12:59:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20390095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeepybear/pseuds/sleeepybear
Summary: Akira's back in Inaba, with no way to contact his friends in Tokyo, and he fucking hates it.The residents of Inaba make it a bit easier.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi no one asked for this but i dont care im doing it anyway  
im a big fucking nerd for p4/p5 crossovers and this is just an excuse to do that  
please. enjoy

He hates this place.   
  
All Akira had done was spend one (awfully short but still somehow horribly long) year in Tokyo. But now, coming back to drab old Inaba… it’s tough. No flashing lights, no Leblanc curry, no friends.   
  
The ‘no friends’ part hits the hardest.   
  
His only friend here is Morgana. Even convincing his parents to let him keep the cat was a struggle, but by promising to pay for all Mona’s needs (no need for a litter box, at least, he was smart enough to do his business outside) he was able to keep Morgana by his side.   
  
If they had said no, well… He can’t exactly just ship a cat back to Tokyo all on it’s own. Maybe that nice man who runs the textiles shop would have been willing to look after him.    
  
At school, it’s just like when he first showed up to Shujin. Whispers, quick glances, parting the hallways like a sea whenever he walks through them. It’s hell. A true, living hell.    
  
There’s never a break. He goes to school, gets avoided and whispered about, and he goes home, where he gets avoided and whispered about by his parents. If they’re even there. Their jobs didn’t use to take them away from home so often. It’s probably because they don’t want to see their disappointment of a son any more than they have to.   
  
He takes to having dinner in his room. Or grabs something small from Junes.   
  
The Junes has integrated nicely into Inaba society. They made a deal with the traditional shopping district not to step on each other’s toes, so all the businesses are harmonious, now. Which is nice, but it’s not like he gives a shit about the Inaba economy.   
  
“Are you okay? You look beary sad.”   
  
A voice breaks through his self loathing thoughts. Akira looks up from his phone, where he’s desperately trying to remember someone, anyone’s number. Damn his parents, wiping his phone like this. He looks up into the face of the Junes bear. He has a little tray of Junes food court takoyaki in his hands. Paws? Paws.   
  
“Teddie brought you this, because when I’m sad, I like to have a snack.” The bear holds out the tray to him, and Akira takes it. It would be rude not to.    
  
“Are you happy now?” The bear asks him, tilting his weird mascot head slightly to the side. Akira looks at him, back to the snack, and back to the bear.   
  
“Yeah. Sure. Thanks, uh, Teddie.” He nods. God, Ryuji and Ann would get such a kick out of this guy. Akira doesn’t even know what he looks like under that suit. Honestly he wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t anything under that suit.   
  
Hah. Like  _ that _ would happen.   
  
At least he seems to have appeased the bear for now, as it seems happy to have ‘helped’ him.    
  
“Okay! Uhm, Teddie has to get back to work now, otherwise Yosuke will yell at him, so, bye-bye!” The bear waves a cute little wave, before doing that weird walk, disappearing inside the store.   
  
Akira sits back, chewing on a takoyaki thoughtfully. Yosuke was the name of the store manager, right? He’s pretty sure he remembered that. The dude got promoted while Akira was away.    
  
Thinking about his real home makes him lose his appetite pretty damn fast. The rest of the takoyaki goes into the trash, face down. Just in case Teddie came out to check on him again.   
  
As he leaves the food court and takes the elevator down, he can hear Makoto’s nagging voice in his head. Telling him it’s important to eat, that he shouldn’t skip meals like this. God, he misses them. He misses them so much that sometimes it gets hard to breathe.   
  
First chance he gets, he’s out of here. Back to Tokyo. Back to his real home.   
  
\----------   
  
His mom wanted him to pick something up from that textiles shop. She must’ve noticed that Akira’s in a real funk right now (a funk. She’d never use the word ‘depressed.’ Oh no, not  _ her _ son, he could  _ never _ be drowning in his own head) and has been sending him on errands this whole week.   
  
Today the errand is to get a dress that she had altered at the textiles shop. Akira takes Morgana with him, as always. He doesn’t trust his parents not to try to give Mona away or something.    
  
They head into the shop, just as a short woman (with  _ very  _ blue hair) is leaving. His memory supplies a name,  _ Naoto. _ She was that local detective... She looks, flushed? And a bit ruffled, her clothing not quite in the right place. On top of that, she looks a bit guilty, like she’s been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to be. Naoto rushes out, not quite looking at Akira. She’s not what Akira’s here for, so he disregards her entirely, and enters.   
  
The guy who runs this shop is Kanji Tatsumi, and he’s pretty nice. Akira has no problems with him. Though he’s nowhere in sight.   
  
“Hello?” He calls into the shop.   
  
“Y-yeah, one second!” Kanji calls back. He appears a moment later, mirroring the flushed look of the woman Akira saw earlier.   
  
Oh.   
  
Yeah, doesn’t take a genius to figure out what they were up to.   
  
“Have a fun afternoon?” Akira can’t help but mess with him. Kanji waves him off, but don’t think that Akira doesn’t notice him flushing a bit more.   
  
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, you brat. You here for your ma’s dress?” He asks, obviously changing the subject. Akira lets it slide.   
  
“Yep. I brought Mona.” As if on cue, Morgana peeks his head out of his bag, and meows. Kanji goes starry eyed at the sight of him.   
  
“I’ll hold ‘im in a second, gotta go get that dress.” And he vanishes once more, only to return a moment or two later with the dress in question.    
  
He pets Morgana while Akira pays for the dress.   
  
“Y’know, ‘s kinda funny…” Kanji starts, but then trails off, as if he’s not sure if he should be saying this.   
  
“What’s kind of funny?” Akira prompts him.   
  
“Well, this dress didn’t need like, any work done. Like, only the tiniest bit, yknow? So I dunno why your ma decided to get me to do it, could’ve done it herself for a lot cheaper.” Kanji blinks, a look of realization crossing his face. “Y’think she’s just tryna get you outta the house?”   
  
“Maybe.” Akira keeps his reply clipped and short so he’ll get the hint.   
  
“Hey, I’m just sayin’. ‘S hard moving somewhere for a year just to go right back to where ya came from, I know, okay? Had a friend do that, and it sucked. Just, keep staying strong, yeah? For both you, and your little furry buddy here.” He punctuates the point with another pat to Morgana’s head.   
  
“Right. Thanks, Tatsumi-san.” He gathers the dress up carfully.    
  
“How many times I gotta tell you, ‘s just Kanji. Tatsumi-san makes me feel old.” He waves off the formalities. “See you later.”   
  
“Bye.” Akira takes the bag, and leaves the shop.   
  
He feels just a bit better than he did walking in.    



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here you fucking go are you people happy
> 
> no but fr i havent written for this since august. hope you're happy merry early christmas, motherfuckers
> 
> this was written in a one night rapid fire writing session so it could be shit! idk dont come for me

Things get a bit easier.   
  
It’s weird, to find solace in such a corporate place as the Junes food court, but that’s just what happens. He studies there (or pretends to, he already learned this stuff at Shujin) and sometimes that weird bear will come and talk at him while he does his way too easy homework.    
  
Sometimes Teddie brings him a snack, and most of the time Akira just tells him to eat it, and Teddie’s happy to oblige.    
  
On this particular day, Teddie’s sitting with him while Akira absentmindedly scribbles away at his English homework, which stings. Just reminds him of tutoring Ryuji and Ann, who would eventually drag him away from the homework and make him take them to Big Bang Burger or make them curry.   
  
He’s so caught up in the bittersweet thoughts that he doesn’t notice someone approach the table.   
  
“So this is where you’ve been spending all the allowance you get?”    
  
Akira looks up, looking directly at a brunette wearing the Junes apron. Based on what he’s heard in the town, and what Teddie has rambled about, this must be the infamous Yosuke.   
  
“Not all my allowance!” Teddie protests.    
  
Yosuke ignores him and looks to Akira. He hesitates for a minute, before sticking out his hand. “Yosuke Hanamura.”    
  
“Akira Kurusu. And, I know.” He shakes his hand, firmly, like Sojiro had taught him.    
  
“You know?” Yosuke looks at Teddie, hands on his hips. “What have you been telling him?”   
  
“Nothing!” Teddie protests, mouth full of food court snacks.    
  
“Yea, nothing my ass, you dumb bear..” Yosuke just sighs, and finally turns his attention back to Kurusu. “So you’re the kid who got sent away for a year?”   
  
Akira tries not to grit his teeth. It doesn’t work. “Yeah. And I know ten different ways to kill you with my bare hands, so don’t fuck with me, got it?”   
  
Instead of spooking him or throwing him off, Akira’s words have little to no effect. Yosuke just grins. “You remind me of somebody I knew.”    
  
Akira goes back to his math. “Knew, as in past tense?”   
  
“Yeah. I don’t really get to talk to my old highschool buds anymore. Kind of sucks, y’know, I thought past trauma was supposed to bring people together for life.” Yosuke sighs once more, pulling out a chair to sit at the table. Entirely uninvited, Akira notes.    
  
“Oh, you mean with the murde- ouchie!” Teddie is cut off by Yosuke smacking him in the arm.   
  
“The murders. I’m not stupid, I knew about them.” Akira mutters. Of course he had known, people still talk about them sometimes.    
  
“Imagine still living in town with all your buddies, but they’re all too busy to hang out.” Yosuke leans back, apparently deciding to vent right now.   
  
Akira takes a deep breath to calm himself, feeling the familiar wet-hot sensation welling up behind his eyes. “Yeah?”   
  
“Yea, it’s crazy! You think they’d put in a bit more effort.” Yosuke complains some more.   
  
Why  _ hadn’t _ his friends put in more effort? They could come to visit, or Futaba could totally figure out his new number somehow, or  _ some _ thing. Did they just forget about all they went through, like Yosuke was saying, did the horrible things they endured together mean nothing?   
  
Akira’s pencil snaps in his hand, which snaps both Yosuke and Teddie to attention.   
  
“Hey, I didn’t mean--” Yosuke starts, but Akira waves him off, gathering up his things.    
  
“No, it’s fine. Not your fault.” He wipes his eyes with his free hand. “Thank you for the snacks, Teddie.”   
  
With that, one miserable ex-Phantom Thief trudged his way out of the food court, more down in the dumps then he had been when he arrived.    
  
He takes it back. Things are not getting easier.    
  
\----------   
  
His mother wanted him to pick up some tofu to fry up for dinner. As if he’d be eating tonight. Every time he thinks of food his stomach rolls like it’s threatening to upheave itself.   
  
He’s not doing so well, he knows it. The bags under his eyes are bigger than they were even at his most stressful times as a Thief. Rumors swirl even harder if you look the part of a criminal, and his rough appearance isn’t helping. It’s like being booted back to Shujin, his first days there when everyone believed he was a good for nothing low life.   
  
Kind of feels like he’s good for nothing. He’s not even 18 yet, but he’s already done the most important thing he ever will do.   
  
In any case, he went to get tofu. He didn’t expect to literally be face to face with an idol.   
  
At this point, his life is so ridiculous that it shouldn’t have even shocked him. But it did.    
  
Risette herself was behind the counter, twirling her hair around one finger and looking at her phone. He has to clear his throat to get her attention.   
  
“Oh! Sorry! Welcome, what can I get for you?” She’s just as bubbly as all idols seem to be. That Sapphire album was great- but she’s probably heard that too many times, so he keeps it to himself.   
  
“Fried tofu, please.”   
  
“Got it!” Rise hands it over, exchanging the wrapped tofu for the yen Akira’s got on him. “You’re the Kurusu’s kid, right? The one who got sent away?”    
  
He nods, gritting his teeth again.   
  
“Right, right. Kind of reminds me of someone I used to talk to.” She puts the yen away into the register.   
  
It clicks in his head.   
  
“Did you use to know Yosuke Hanamura?” Akira asks, slightly tipping his head to the side.   
  
“Oh, yea! Me and some other people, we were this big group. He was one of us.” She smiles, but then the smile fades a bit. “Guess we kind of grew apart?”    
  
“That’s unfortunate.” He pauses for a minute. “I’ll.. speak with you later, Miss Kujikawa.”   
  
“Oh, no, that’s my grandma!” She waves him off. “Call me just Rise, okay? Not Risette.”    
  
“Not Risette, got it.”    
  
With a nod, Akira takes the tofu home to his over-enthusiastic mother, whos just so proud of him for doing a basic task.   
  
\----------   
  
He didn’t eat, as predicted.    
  
Akira thought that his stomach woke up, as he rolls over and checks the clock. Four am, the numbers glare back at him.   
  
But then his phone goes off, again, and that’s most definitely not his stomach.   
  
Akira grabs it, wondering who would be texting him. He only has Kanji’s number in here, since the man had offered.   
  
What he sees, nearly makes him drop the phone. A familiar name, a familiar icon.   
  
  
** _Alibaba: hey nerd!_ ** ** _   
_ ** ** _   
_ ** ** _Alibaba: long time no talk_ ** ** _   
_ ** **** _   
_ ** _Alibaba: you miss me?_ **   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope ya'll are happy gonna go back to my grave now
> 
> pls comment tell me whatcha think, mwah love u

**Author's Note:**

> hello welcome to end of chapter 1  
hope you enjoyed please tell me what you think  
more to come soon


End file.
